Panthers roll through Generals in rout

By Brad Fauber

QUICKSBURG – Visiting Page County was simply too much for Stonewall Jackson’s boys basketball team to handle.

The Panthers, a regional qualifying team last season, dominated the Generals in all facets Tuesday night to the tune of an 82-41 victory in Shenandoah District action.

“It’s gonna be a roller coaster ride for us,” Generals first-year coach David Fowler said. “When you play a team like that you expect to get punched in the mouth. But like I said, it’s gonna be a roller coaster ride. Next time we see them it’s gonna be different. … But (we’re) getting better.”

The Panthers (6-1), who raced out to a 21-10 lead after one period and didn’t slow down, shot 51.6 percent (33 for 64) in the victory, including a 40.9-percent mark (9 for 22) from beyond the 3-point arc. Eleven different players scored for Page County, led by senior Tylor Williams’ 25 points, eight rebounds and three steals.

Panthers head coach Mike Purdham said his team’s offensive success began on the defensive end, where Page County showed various looks, including man-to-man, an extended half-court 2-1-2 zone and some full-court pressure in the first half.

“Everybody sees our offense and sees that we’re hitting shots and all but we’re a rhythm team. If we play defense good things happen on the offensive end,” Purdham said. “When we’re lethargic on the defensive end we make it hard on ourselves offensively. But I thought we did a good job of maintaining our pressure and maintaining our focus on the defensive end throughout the game, which led to opportunities to score.”

Page County forced the Generals (2-4) into 17 turnovers in the game, while the Panthers committed just six, five of which came in the third period with the game well in hand.

Stonewall also was dominated on the glass, as Page County held a 44-17 advantage in rebounds. The Generals had just six rebounds in the second half.

“Any time anybody gets two or three looks at the basket they’re gonna score,” Fowler said. “We’ve gotta learn to box out and do it consistently. I think we have some that buy in and sporadically we do (box out). But until we do it consistently we’ll get beat on the glass. A lot of times that’s the difference in the game.”

Behind some hot shooting by Williams, who hit six 3-pointers in the game, Page County took a 42-15 lead into halftime by out-scoring Stonewall 21-5 in the second period.

The Generals – who shot 34.9 percent (15 for 43) in the loss – were able to keep pace with the Panthers in the third period as junior Dylan Davis tallied 11 points in the frame, but Page County extended its lead to as much as 43 points in the fourth quarter.

Davis led Stonewall with 16 points, while sophomore Nick Dotson added 12 points on the strength of three 3-pointers. Junior forward Tyler Patton had five rebounds for the Generals.

Senior guard Bradley Dovel had 12 points for Page County, while junior forward Joel McKay had a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds.